Tag Archives: ya

I’m writing this on Monday morning, back at school after an exhilarating time at the 2012 National Council of Teachers of English conference in Las Vegas. That conference provided me with several glimpses of the future. Those glimpses are in … Continue reading →

As regular visitors here know, my students read books of their own choosing every day for the first ten minutes of class. Then they write blog posts about those books, and they write comments on each other’s book blog posts. This … Continue reading →

A book like See You at Harry’s reminds us of the absolute pleasure of becoming immersed in a terrific read. Author Jo Knowles leads us to empathize with her characters, engages us in a narrative that pulls us through in … Continue reading →

Wintertown by Stephen Emond take place over a winter break as high school seniors and childhood friends Evan and Lucy try to become reacquainted. Lucy moved away when her parents divorced, and comes back to visit her father once a … Continue reading →

Saving the Baghdad Zoo: A True Story of Hope and Heroes by Kelly Milner Halls My rating: 5 of 5 stars Saving the Baghdad Zoo is an excellent book for upper elementary-age students but will be appealing to other ages … Continue reading →

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult My rating: 3 of 5 stars I admired the first half of Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes. Based on what others have told me about her books, I expected it to be melodramatic, predictable, and manipulative. … Continue reading →

Half a Life: A Memoir by Darin Strauss My rating: 5 of 5 stars I just finished (in one day) Half a Life by Darin Strauss, and I highly recommend this memoir. When he was 18, Strauss was driving a … Continue reading →

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow My rating: 4 of 5 stars I like the book’s concept and characters, but politics overwhelms the story in places. I tend to agree with Doctorow’s politics, but when he “broke the wall” in a … Continue reading →